The first step of representation is to actually have these characters in media, no matter where you can get it. But what does matter no matter if the representation is pertaining to a movie, a television show, etc., the accuracy of the representation is arguably even more important. This also ties into what audiences see in theaters and on television today because they appreciate when they can see themselves in the characters, but not in a detrimental way. We, as a culture, have both succeeded and failed in aspect is where we learn and grow through many different forms of expression. Our growth and accuracy of representation in media is an important part of how we depict minorities in ways that is especially reflected in today’s popular media.
One of the main problems that is tied into lack of accurate representation is whitewashing. When white actors are used to portray characters of color, those characters are not authentic. Not only may they physically not resemble the characters they are portraying, but race is part of identity; if you haven’t experienced what it means to be a part of that identity, it is next to impossible to accurately represent the character. This has been brought to attention by the media more recently because big films and television shows are casting stars for roles of characters that do not match their race, particularly when white people portray people of color. For example, Scarlett Johansson was cast as the lead role, Major, in the 2017 film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, even though Scarlett is white, while the movie is set in Japan and most of the characters are Japanese. In 2010, the lead actors of the film The Last Airbender were all white with no Native American or Asian heritage, even though all the characters were of Asian and Native American descent. This problem goes back even farther to popular films like West Side Story (1961), where many main characters are Puerto Rican, are portrayed by mostly non-Latina actors. The main character, Maria, was played by Natalie Wood, is an actress of Russian descent, not Latina. I have never lived life as a black woman, so there is no way for me to present or know how to act as a black woman. Why is it okay for films to do it?
Having inaccurate representation also makes it harder to connect with certain audiences, even the intended one. In watching a film, if the viewer sees themselves represented physically, mentally, or culturally, it allows them to connect with the characters on a deeper level, and makes them feel valid. This can translate today through not only having LGBTQ+ representation in media, but also having queer actors playing LGBTQ+ characters on television and film. A film that had a huge fan base from the beginning was The Carmilla Movie. This is because the story started out as a YouTube series and only was able to continue with new seasons, and eventually the movie, was that the fans supported the accurate and positive representation of queer characters. The series is loosely based off the 1872 novella written by Sheridan Le Fanu about a lesbian vampire named Carmilla, staged the perspective of Laura’s vlog camera that is stationary for the entire season. The cast and crew is almost entirely female, empowering women in a profession that is male dominated. Many of the characters identify as queer, and there is even one character who identifies as non-binary, who is played by a non-binary actress. More specifically, the two main characters Carmilla Karnstein and Laura Hollis are two queer women who develop a relationship with each other, and they are played by actresses Natasha Negovanlis and Elise Bauman, who identify as queer and bisexual, respectively. These two women know how it feels to be in the LGBTQ+ community, so it translates to more authentic portrayal of the characters they are playing. There is also the fact that spontaneous gesture has a special value on the screen, and this fact especially reminded me of this series and film, because a lot of the smaller moments that the two characters share aren’t scripted. Elise and Natasha had the freedom to react authentically to different situations in the characters’ relationship, which resulted in an extra second holding the other’s hands, adding a snide remark in one of their fights, and the fan favorite, adding a kiss in more tender moments. In interviews, Elise and Natasha have discussed how they know that there are at least 4 kisses throughout the series and movie that were never scripted, but to the actors, in the moment it felt right. These moments end up being the best because of how real they feel. A straight actress might have been very apprehensive in acting the way they feel appropriate or might not know how to react, mainly because she has never been in a relationship with a woman.
The audience can tell what feels real or not. In The L Word, the only out lesbian actress to play the main cast of lesbian/bisexual women was Leisha Hailey, who was cast as Alice Pieszecki. In the show about women who love woman, only a select few have ever even dated a woman, let alone had sex with them. The fans expressed complaints that many of the kisses and sex scenes feel forced and not genuine, taking away from the authenticity of the show. Despite the positive representation of queer characters, the fact that the actresses have not been through these experiences is off-putting to the audience.
The truth is what we strive to achieve in representation. This translates to accurate depictions in media because how can shows and films accurately portray these characters with actors who haven’t lived their life as that identity?